As I landed in Los Angeles, California, the excitement about participating in Mobility International USA's (MIUSA) exchange to Mexico was mounting quickly.

Upon arrival, I immediately met other group members with learning disabilities, visual impairments, hearing impairments and mobility impairments all preparing for an adventure in Mexico. We were all young students wanting to learn more about people with disabilities in the United States and Mexico; wanting to help create an awareness of people with disabilities; and ready to help each other with the physical and language barriers ahead.

Until this trip, I had never traveled with a group of people with physical or sensory impairments. Wow! We had a lot of luggage by the time we found all the wheelchair parts, walkers, crutches, bags, and suitcases! I think we overwhelmed a few taxi drivers and airline officials as they assisted us with transporting enough equipment for seven wheelchair users.

My Spanish was immediately tested when we landed in Tepic as an airline official began to carry me and the other wheelchair users off of the airplane. Luckily, I was able to manage a quick "Tenga cuidado, por favor" (be careful, please) before he picked me up. I was amazed that my three years of high school Spanish came through for me when I needed to communicate in a different language.

Meeting our host families was quite an experience. Prior to the trip, I was really nervous about staying at a host family's home in another culture, but my host family was great! My host sister spoke English proficiently. With her help and the encouragement of my host mom, they both helped me to learn more Spanish. Speaking limited Spanish was actually an ice breaker because it provided an opportunity to ask people to speak slower, repeat things, write them down, draw a picture or wait for me while I located my Spanish-English dictionary. Somehow, it all worked! They laughed with me as the wrong Spanish word came out in the middle of a sentence. One day my host family asked me a question in English and thought it was really neat when I answered the question in Spanish.

My best experience in Tepic, besides my great host family, was visiting with architecture students at a local school. As a group, we exchanged ideas during a question and answer session. Then, the students approached us individually during the break and after the conference to ask us individual questions. It was a neat way to create an awareness of people with disabilities, meet other students, and exchange ideas, dreams and goals.

I contributed to the group in Tepic, Mexico by translating for other delegates, helping pull backpacks off other delegate's wheelchairs, helping delegates prepare for the day, and directing delegates who were blind as they pushed my wheelchair. Leaving my family in Tepic was hard.

I did things I never dreamed possible in San Luis Potosi. In San Luis Potosi, I stayed with an older woman, her daughter, and her grandson. I was also with Krista, another blind delegate who speaks limited Spanish. Krista and I worked together to communicate with my host family. I described the surroundings for Krista, we helped each other with translating, and she helped me to negotiate steps and put my shoes on in the morning. We were a really good team!

In the mornings, we participated in workshops focusing on disability issues. During the afternoons and evenings, we participated in cultural activities like a tour of the historic district, a street dance and participating in a local television show.

There were several highlights of my stay in San Luis Potosi, Mexico. The volunteers were awesome! I couldn't get in the shower in my family's home so the boy scouts went in search of a small pool where I could shower. Overcoming the language barrier was another highlight of my exchange to Mexico. To help one of the other program delegates, Allison, I translated her words into Spanish, wrote it down, and then showed it to the Mexican host who was Deaf. It worked!

Camping in the mountains was another fun activity and a highlight of my exchange. I never envisioned myself walking across ropes, being hoisted into a tree or climbing through ropes between trees. But I did it during our ropes challenge course. Because I use a walker and a wheelchair for mobility, accomplishing that challenge was an awesome feeling!

This international exchange opportunity has influenced my future plans in several important ways. Because of these opportunities and experiences, I now know that I want to work more on a global level with people with disabilities. My ultimate goal is to work overseas after I graduate to design computers, wheelchairs, walkers and other assistive devices for people with disabilities.